"The beauty and opalescence of the pearl presents
an object lesson in proper handling of difficulty. A
cultured pearl is formed by removing a young oyster
from the sea and placing within its shell a tiny grain
of sand or a small pebble. The oyster is then
returned to the ocean floor.  No one can doubt that
the oyster is irritated by this foreign matter within
its body, but because it is powerless to get rid of it,
it does something else.  Hour by hour, day by day,
year by year the oyster envelops the foreign body
within its iridescent film which gradually becomes
hard as stone. This is how a pearl comes into being.
Years later, the oyster is retrived and the beautiful
pearl is harvested..."

Dear Friends,
This thought has stayed with us over the past ten years  as we
established a fund in Tom’s memory: one that would help
young people become the “pearls” of their generation
through our financial support of their education.  Thank you
for your participation in the many events that have helped
us to continue the work Tom started. The successes of the
past years have served to honor Tom’s memory by providing
assistance to a number of young people of promise.